therefore being commanded immediatly by the literall command of the law though necessarily implying the spirituall command in the command of faith the works of truth love and mercy are necessarily commanded which are the works of faith without which faith is but a dead faith and man but a dead man dead in actuall sin though he doth live all the days of this life To the knowledge of which actuall sin as the naturall man is led by the literall light of the law implyed in the command of the Lords day So by the knowledge of death by actuall sin the naturall man is moved to morall repentance And by repentance to amendment of life by the works of truth love and mercy to which he is morally enabled by the power of the redeemed Word of truth love and mercy in his heart which are the works of faith whereby the Lords merit is morally apprehended Eighthly the new covenant made between God and man being established upon the immediat command of the Lords day the seventh day of the Evangelicall law of faith as the Lord doth oblige himself to man to conferre the actuall blessing of the Lords dayes eternall rest to the faithfull believer so the Lord by his covenant doth oblige the finall contemner of his infinit merit to the actuall mercilesse eternall curse of his Law The Lords merit of mercy therefore being infinit there is mercy for man all the day of this life For the new covenant is made to all men whatsoever and at what time soever For Mar. 13.13 whosoever shall endure to the end shall be saved This end to the naturall man is his finall perseverance in his morall obedience till the Lords prefixed time of his spirituall calling by the spirituall grace of faith whereby the naturall man being regenerate is saved who hath nothing to necessitate his morall disobedience And though he doth stumble and fall yet by the power of the redeemed word written in his heart the naturall man hath freedome to repent morally without necessitating of his impenitency for morall repentance must necessarily precede morall faith As the naturall man therefore is no wayes to dispaire of the Lords infinite mercy while there is day in this life for the dispairer of the Lords infinite mercy doth belie the Lords mercy and doth detract from the infinitensse of the Lords merit so the naturall man is no wayes by his presumptuous continuance in sin and wickednesse to contemn the Lords long patience leading him so graciously to repentance lest the Lord in his justice give him over to a reprobate minde that he cannot repent though he hath all the dayes of this life to repent by covenant Ninthly the law of God being eternall eternally obliging man as he is man and the reward of the law due by the law to the merit of man being according to the law eternall there must be therefore resurrection from the dead that man as he is man intellectuall and sensitive may receive the eternall reward of the law in the full extent to wit eternall life and rest to the faithfull believer in the merit of man Jesus Christ the eternall Son of God and the curse of the law by eternall death to the merit of man the proud finall contemner of the Lords infinit merit offered so freely to him in this life The reward therefore of the law in the full extent as the reward is eternall cannot be received by man till the last day Tenthly the Lord being the head of all men redeemed from the curse of the law for the sin of Adam as the Lord hath his universall redeemed Church in all the nations of the world who by the power of the redeemed word of truth love and mercy written in their heart are all morally united by one faith in one body and by that faith morally united to their head the gracious Redeemer of all men So the Lord being the mysticall head of his mysticall members the Lord hath his mysticall universall Church all united in one mysticall body by spirituall faith and by spirituall faith all spiritually and indivisibly united to their mysticall head These are the first ten fundamentall points of faith arising from the literall light of the Evangelicall sound of the word of the Lords day by the Lords rest and resurrection from the grave leading the naturall mans understanding by faith to apprehend the Lords merit to save him from the curse of the law of faith Next therefore of the fundamentall points of faith arising from the Lords resurrection from the earth by his ascention to the heavens to which his resurrection from his grave doth extend where the Lord sitteth at the right hand of the infinite power of the Father whence two fundamentall points of faith doth arise First the Lord according to his promise that the seed of the woman shall break the head of the old Serpent and the head of his cursed seed hath obliged himself by the new covenant that by his second coming from the heavens gloriously united to his mysticall members shall revenge the blood of man upon Satan and his cursed seed First the blood of man first betrayed by Satan to fall under the curse of the law Secondly the blood of man Jesus Christ the eternall Son of God by his redemption of man from the eternall curse of the law Thirdly the blood of the Lords mystical members persecute by Satan and his cursed seed for their valorous defending of his sacred truth in this life For the Lord as head united to his mysticall members is the mysticall man who must break the old Serpents head and the head of his cursed seed in the grat day afterwards more fully to be declared This breaking of the head of the old Serpent and of the head of his cursed seed is by the Lords judging condemning and by the actuall inflicting of the eternall curse and reward of the law in the full extent to the greâ—t glory of God the eternall comfort of the faithfull and to the finall eternall and utter confusion of Satan and his cursed seed in the great day The second fundamentall point of faith arising from the Lords resurrection from the earth by his ascention to the heavens is that the Lord hath graciously obliged himself by the covenant to send the Comforter John 16.7 the Spirit of truth by whose spirituall light enlightening the spirituall darknesse of the naturall man the Lords mysticall members are begot and by the spirituall power of whose spirituall life by that spirituall light the regenerate are enabled with the gift of patience to overcome all the afflictions and temptations of Satan and of his cursed seed in this life which is the Lords earnest of their incorruptible crown of glory in the life to come for their valor in their defence of his truth in this life In these twelve fundamentall points of faith as by the literall light of the sound of the word of the Lords day by his rest
from the redemption of man from the curse of the Law and from his fulfilling of the Law for man by his bloody rest was likewise infinit By the power of whose infinit merit by the Lords daies Evangelicall rest as it is the word of the eternall life and rest of man the formall worship of the Lords day is commanded in spirit and truth And therefore the Lord told the Samaritan woman The houre commeth and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father and consequently the Son and holy Spirit in Spirit and truth For God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and truth By which words the formall Evangelicall worship of the Lords day is both set downe and commanded by the Lord of the Lords day For first the Lord told the Samaritan woman commanding her to beleeve that the houre should come which is the houre of the Lords day which was then to come Secondly the Lord commanded the Samaritan woman to beleeve that God is a Spirit and must be worshipped in Spirit and truth that is in the Spirit of faith in the truth of his Evangelicall rest fâ—om the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed Which is the formall Evangelicall commanded worship of the Lords day which must be sanctified by man after that formall manner in the Spirit of faith in the truth of the Lords merit by his Evangelicall rest as he hath manifested himselfe to man by the day of his resurrection to wit Lord God and man in the three coessentiall distinct Persons of the glorious Trinity Thirdly whereas the Lord told the Samaritan woman that God must be worshipped in Spirit and truth and that the Father requireth such worship The formall Evangelicall worship of the Lords day is immediatly commanded by the Lord of the Lords day for Gods will and requiring of man by his word is the Lords immediate command to man Fourthly whereas the Lord said to the Samaritan woman the houre is in these words the Lords last will testament to be executed after the testators death is fully implied for in the commanded worship of the Lords day the whole Evangelicall morall Law of God which is the whole Evangelicall word is necessarily implied Fiftly while as the Lord saith to the Samaritan woman the houre cometh when ye shall neither worship the Father in this Mountaine or at Jerusalem By these words the formall ceremoniall worship of the propheticall Sabbath implying the whole propheticall ceremoniall Law is actually determined by the actuall immediate commanded Evangelicall worship of the Lords day to the great comfort of both Jewes and Gentiles in tâ—eir freedome from the sore yoake of the ceremoniall Law Conclusion 11. All propheticall ceremoniall worship is barred from the truth of the Lords commanded worship for by such ceremoniall worship the truth of the Lords fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed is belied and necessarily denied by the will worship of man Conclusion 12. All ceremoniall pretended worship of God by any maner of carved or painted Image objectively representing to the eyes of man the Son of God as he is man is contradictory to the truth of the Lords commanded worship by his Evangelicall rest from the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed as he is God and man For first by this ceremoniall pretended worship God is immediatly worshipped as he is man Secondly by the intervening of the sensitive object between the Lord and his worship the Lords worship is necessarily interrupted and consequently the worship a false faithles idolatrous worship necessarily denying the truth of the Lords commanded worship Conclusion 13. All mediate pretended worship of God by invocation of Angels or Saints departed this life is repugnant to the Lords infinit merit by the truth of his Evangelicall rest For first by the immediate object of such worship intervening between the worshipper and the Lord as by his infinit merit he is eternall life rest the infinitnes of his merit is confined Secondly prayer being a most essentiall part of Gods immediate worship by such invocation of the object to which the prayer is directed the worship of God is necessarily interrupted while as man by the Lords owne immediate command is commanded to call upon the Lord himselfe immediatly in the day of trouble and neither upon Saint or Angel And consequently such mediate pretended worship of God equall idolatry with the former Conclusion 14. As all men for their first sinne in Adam as head were condemned to the curse of eternall death and darknes So by the infinit powâ—â— of the Lords merit all men were redeemed in Adam as head from the curse of eternall death and from eternall naturall and spirituall darknes shuâ— up its â—â—mâ—orall spirituall darknes called unbeleefe and originall sinne for â—he infinit good of man Conclusion 15. As by the perfection of the redemption of man by the power of the Lords infinit free merit all men are freed from the curse of eternall naturall morall and spirituall death and from the eternall curse of naturall morall and spirituall darknesse though shut up in temporall spirituall darknes So all men by the redeemed free power of the word in the heart as they are naturall men are restored to the free grace of naturall and morall life and light without any manner of necessitating the act of the understanding will or senses either naturally or morally Conclusion 16. All men redeemed from the curse of the Law by the eternall decree of predestination being concluded in spirituall darknes called unbeleefe and originall sinne all naturall men comming to actual morall understanding and action before they be regenerate are necessarily dead in actuall sinne by their transgression of the Law of faith Conclusion 17. By the redeemed word of the Law in the heart of man man is the Image of God in his Son Christ Jesus as he hath revealed himselfe by the light of the word of the Lords day truth love and mercy First therefore the naturall man by the power of the redeemed word of the Law written in his heart is enabled to produce the workes of truth love and mercy morally though not spiritually which are the workes of morall faith Secondly and consequently by the reall unity of the power of light and command of the word of the Law in his heart with the light and command of the Lords day the naturall mans heart is morally moved to assent and to beleeve the truth of the Lords day and to give morall obedience to the command of the Law implied in the Lords day Thirdly and consequently by the power of the redeemed word in the heart man is enabled to morall repentance which doth necessarily proceed the act of morall faith Conclusion 18. All tenents and assertions denying the universall grace of the redemption of all men from the curse of the Law for their sinne in Adam shut up in spirituall darknes called unbeleefe and sinne
Word doth comprehend the twelve Articles of Christian faith all depending one upon another like as many links of a chain linked one into another all arising from the literall light of the Lords day by his rest and resurrection from the fulfilling of his promise of the blâ—ssed seed as the Lord did graciously oblige himself to man by the covenant First therefore of the Lords resurrection from the grave and next of his resurrection from the earth by his ascention to the heavens The Lords resurrection from the grave doth comprehend these ten fundamentall points of faith First by the literal light of the sound of the evangelicall Word of the Lords day really one with the literall light of the redeemed Word of the Law written in the heart of man whereby man doth live move and hath his redeemed state of being the naturall mans understanding is morally produced in act by the mediate sense of hearing to understand that the Lords resurrection from the grave was the last period of his rest from the redemption of man and all things lost by man from the curse of the Law for the first sin of Adam And that the Lords resurrection from the grave was from the bloody rest in the grave and his bloody rest in the grave from his sustâ—iâ—ing of the bloody cursed death of the crosse and his bloody cursed death of the crosse from his love and mercy to man Secondly as by our Saviâ—urs bloody death and rest in the grave necessarily presupposing his birth and life our Saviour did manifest himself true man so by our Saviours gracious words glorious wonders and miracles while he was personally upon earth as our Saviour was man the Son of God before all time so he did manifest himself man the Son of God in time begot of the seed of the woman by the overshadowing act of the Almighty Thirdly as our Saviour as he is the eternall Son of God by his sustaining of the eternall curse of the Law did merit the salvation of Adam and of all men naturally to descend of Adam from the first death which was the curse of the Law for the sin of Adam so our Saviour by his bloody rest in the grave for the full space of the seventh day of the last Sabbath whereby the Law was fulfilled as he was obliged to the Law for man as our Saviour is the eternall Son of God he did merit the eternall life and rest of the first seventh day lost by Adam due by the Law to his eternall merit which is the blessing of the Lords day offered to the faith of all the nations of the world by the new covenant whereby all the faithfull are saved from the second death which is the curse of the Law of faith Fourthly by the literall light of the sound of the word of the Lords day the naturall mans understanding is morally produced in act by the mediat sense of hearing to understand that the Lords resurrection from the grave was by his rest from the power of eternall death and darknesse of hell from the eternall curse of the Law the cause of eternall death from sin which he made himself for man the cause of the curse of the Law from the power of Satan the cause of sin and from the power of the grave his last enemy whereby the Lord by the immediate act of his own immediate infinite power did gloriously and triumphantly manifest himself truth to man by the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed and in that truth love and mercy to man and by that truth love and mercy Lord God and man in the essentiall union of the divine and humane nature Lord God and man equall with the Father and holy Spirit Lord God and man equall with the Father by the work of the redemption of man eternally lost by the eternall curse of the Law and by the redemption of the creatures which were cursed for the sin of man which are equall to the works of the creation and the Lord did manifest himself Lord God and man equall with the holy Spirit as by the continuall influence of his blessing the creatures which he hath redeemed are conserved in their redeemed estate which is the proper blessing of the holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son The name Lord therefore is the name of the essentiall union of the divine and humane nature necessarily implying the three coessentiall distinct persons of the glorious Trinity and consequently implying the name Jesus and Christ For as by the Lord God and man the lost creatures are râ—stored the Lord is the Father Lord and commander of the creatures And as he is the Saviour of man from eternall death he is Jesus the eternall Son of God aâ—d as by the continuall influence of his blessing the creatures are conserved he is Christ the anointed with the oile of gladnesse the holy Spirit and sanctifier and consequently as the redeemed word written in the heart of man by the power of which redeemed word the naturall man doth live move and hath his redeemed state and grace of naturall and morall being is the Image of God in his Son Christ Jesus so the redeemed word in the heart of man is the Image of the Lords truth love and mercy whereby the naturall man is morally enabled by the act of his understanding and will to produce the works of truth love and mercy Fifthly the Lords rest and resurrection from the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed being by his infinite immediate power his merit by his resurrection and rest is infinite and his love and mercy to man by his rest is infinite Sixthly as by the infinit power of the Lords merit by his resurrection and rest the day of the Lords resurrection is blessed and sanctified for his worship by man to whose faithfull worship the infinite blessing of the Lords merit of eternall life and rest is due by the Evangelicall law of faith so by the infinite power of his merit the Evangelicall worship of the Lords day is immediatly commanded and in that immediate worship as the Lords day is the Evangelicall seventh day of the Evangelicall law of faith implying the command of the whole law the whole Evangelicall law is commanded obliging all the nations of the world to believe the truth of the Lords fulfilled promise to whose faith the blessing of the Lords Evangelicall eternall rest is due by the law whereby the faithfull man is saved from the second death which is the curse of the law of faith and doth enjoy eternall life Seventhly the naturall man being commanded to believe that by faith in the Lords merit he is saved from the second death and Evangelicall faith being the act of the redeemed heart of man and the originall of all his naturall and morall actions to which all men are inabled by the power of the redeemed Word of truth love and mercy written in the heart of man faith
rest which is the blessing of the Lords day is the immediate object of faith and therefore the Evangelicall law is called the law of righteousnesse of faith though the works of faith which are the works of truth love and mercy are equally commanded in the command of faith which is the necessary sole immediate efficient cause of the works of faith and therefore necessarily commanded in the command of faith while the Apostle therefore doth affirm that man is justified by faith without the works of the law we must understand that the works meaned by the Apostle are the ceremoniall works of the Propheticall law and not the Evangelicall works of faith to which works the Apostle doth exhort both the Jews and Gentiles and therefore the Apostle James saith shew me thy faith by thy works Now the Lords merit of eternall life which is the blessing of the Lords day being really one the word of promise and new covenant and the word of the seventh day of the Evangelicall law are really one and so much for the reall unity of both next of the formall difference The formall difference of both doth consist in this that by the new covenant God and man are mutually obliged in the Evangelicall word of the Lords day For as God by his new covenant doth formally oblige man to believe the truth of his fulfilled promise of the blessed seed by his Evangelicall rest So the Lord doth mutually oblige himself by the truth of his merit by his Evangelicall rest to save the believer from the curse of the second death obliging likewise the unbeliever and finall contemner of his free gracious offer to the mercilesse curse of the law of faith But by the Evangelicall word of the Lords day the seventh day of the Evangelicall law the Lord doth formally command man to testifie his beliefe to the word of eternall life as the Lords Word is his law to man The chief precept of whose law is the commanded worship of the Lords day in which commanded worship the whole Evangelicall law of righteousnesse of faith as formally and necessarily commanded commanding the faith of man in the originall which is the love of the heart where the redeemed word of the law is written really one with the Evangelicall word of the seventh day of the law the Lords day by the power of which redeemed word in the heart which is the Image of God in his Son Christ Jesus truth love and mercy it self all men are morally enabled by the works of truth love and mercy to give morall obedience to the command of the Evangelicall law which are the works of faith the chief work whereof is the truth of the commanded worship of the Lords day whereby the Lord by his Evangelicall rest hath manifested himself truth love and mercy to man The judicious Reader therefore may plainly perceive that though there be a formall difference between the word of the seventh day of the Evangelicall law and of the word of promise and the new covenant yet they are really one and the one necessarily implyed in the other For as hath been formerly declared God cannot morally command man to his new covenant but by the immediate command of the word of the seventh day of the law implying the command of the whole Evangelicall law which is the Evangelicall word of the Lords day For there is neither life light or the power of command in any precept of the Evangelicall law of righteousnesse of faith but by the only immediate commanded worship of the Lords day in that commanded worship implying the command of the whole law And therefore the blessing of the Lords merit by the Lords dayes Evangelicall rest is only and immediatly due by the law to the faithfull worship of the Lords day for the fulfilling of the whole law which is fulfilled by faith in the Lords infinite merit by whose infinite sanctified merit by his Evangelicall resurrection and rest from the fulfilling of his promise the Lords day is the word of eternall life and the immediate object of Christian faith without the command therefore of the Lord day as it is his law to man there is neither life or light for man or any law or new covenant or any object for the faith of man dead in actuall sin as all men freed from the curse of the law for the sin of Adam are before they be regenerate by their transgression of the law of faith And therfore as our Saviour by his bloody rest in the grave by his fulfilling of the command of the seventh day did fulfill the whole law as our Saviour was oblieged to the law for man to whose merit the eternall life and rest lost by Adam is due by the law so the Lord Iesus Christ eternall life and rest by his resurrection and rest from the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed upon the day of his resurrection did obliege all men again to his new Covenant by the immediate command of the Lords dayes commanded worship blessed and sanctified by his merit to believe in his fulfilled promise of the blessed seed to whose faith the blessing of his merit of eternall life is due by the law which is commanded in the cōmanded worship of the Lords day as may appear by the word of promise new covenant Go and teach preach the Evangel to all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy Spirit Mar. 16.15 16. he that shal believe shall be saved but he that wil not believe shall be condemned The sense of the word of the covenant is this Go and preach the Evangel that is go and preach proclaim the glad tidings of my resurrection and rest this day from the fulfilling of my promise of the blessed seed which is the summe of the whole Evangel implied in the Lords day by the Lords Evangelicall rest go therefore preach the Evangel to all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy Spirit as my my resurrection and rest this day from the power of sin Satan hell eternall death the curse of the law and the power of the grave I have manifested my self by mine own infinit immediate power Truth to man by the fulfilling of my promise and in that truth love and mercy to man and in that truth love and mercy God and man in the three coessentiall distinct persons of the Trinity whosoever shall believe in me to wit eternall life and rest by the power of my infinit merit by my Evangelicall rest shall be saved from the curse of the second death for the transgression of the law of faith as by my bloody rest in the grave from the cursed death of the crosse all men are saved from the curse of the law for their transgression of the law in Adam which is the first death he that will not believe in me shall be condemned to
For Mark 13.13 Whosoever shall continue to the end shall be saved This end to the naturall redeemed man is the prefixed time of Gods spirituall calling by spirituall faith For by spirituall faith the naturall redeemed man is saved from the second death which is the curse of the Law of righteousness of faith as by the cursed death of Christ Jesus the Son of God as he is man naturall man is saved from the first death which is the curse of the Law of righteousness for the first sin of Adam Fifthly though Satan and his wicked instruments cannot necessitate the will of the redeemed man morally to disobedience yet Satan by his false deceiving light can induce and betray man without Gods speciall concursive grace to transgresse the Law of righteousness of faith by his works of unbelief and unrighteousness and to draw down the evill reward of the Law by sore afflictions proceeding from the wrath of God upon the naturall man for his transgression of the Law The redeemed naturall man therefore by the power of the redeemed word of the Law and life of righteousness of faith in his heart is inabled with the morall grace and gift of morall prayer to call upon the Lord in the day of affliction and trouble who hath promised to hear the prayer of the redeemed naturall man And therefore the Lord saith Psal 50.15 Call upon me in the day of trouble and I will hear thee for prayer is one of the principall works of worship and a chief work of faith Sixthly the naturall and morall blessing of the word of the seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousness of Faith is morally due by the Law to the redeemed naturall mans morall faith by the immediate power of which blessing the naturall mans power to produce his morall good works of faith is continued Though the good morall action therefore of the redemed naturall man be necessary spirituall sin by reason of his concluding in spirituall darknesâ— which is spirituall unbelief for whatsoever is not of spirituall faith is necessarily spirituall sin yet the good morall action of the naturall man is not actuall spirituall sin for so God must be the first author of actuall spirituall sin since the fall which is blasphemy to affirm For this spirituall sin is not by the positive act of the will of man but from the will of God according to his eternall Decree by concluding man in spirituall unbelief which is called sin for the reasons set down in the Chapter following But this spirituall unbelief proceeding of the spirituall darkness wherein all redeemed men are concluded is not actuall sin For actuall sin is the transgression of the Law which is the only sin that condemnes man For as the Law of righteousness of Faith doth command the works of Faith So the Law doth condemn the works of unbelief whereby the Law is transgressed by man we must therefore distinguish between the good morall action of the naturall man as it is spirituall sin for want of spirituall faith and the morall evill action of the naturall man which is both actuall morall and actuall spirituall sin for there is but one Law of God as God is one literally and spiriritually commanding man and consequently the morall transgression is a necessary spirituall transgression of the Law The good morall action therefore of the naturall man according to the literall command of the Law cannot be actuall spirituall sin for the naturall man being shut up in spirituall darkness is dead as he is a spirituall man and therefore the naturall man as he is a spirituall man being dead is freed from the Law of actuall sin And his morall good action proceeding from his morall faith being without either morall or spirituall actuall sin The morall blessing of the word of the seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousness of Faith is as due by the Law to his morall faith as the spirituall blessing is due by the Law to the spirituall faith of the regenerate man For as the Law is first and immediately literally commanded so the blessing of the word of the seventh dayes rest is first immediately due by the Law to morall faith which must necessarily precede spirituall Faith in the ordinary calling of God Seventhly though the naturall man do too often stumble and fall by the temptation of Satan and his instruments yet he hath all the dayes of this life to repent him of his actuall sins for the arms of Gods mercy are out-stretched all the dayes of his life to imbrace the repenting sinner And therefore is said Ezek. 18.21 22. At what time soever a sinner doth repent him of his sins from the bottome of his heart I will put away all his sins out of my remembrance As the naturall man therefore must not despair of Gods mercy in his Son Christ Jesus which is the greatest sin that can be committed by man proceeding from unbelief for by desparing in the mercy of God wretched man doth detract from the infiniteness of the Lords merit So it is one of the most fearfull sins for wretched man by continuing in actuall sins and wickeness to presume on the mercy of God while by his contemning of the long patience of God leading him so graciously to repentance God in his justice doth most justly give him over to a reprobate minde that though he hath all the dayes of this life to repent yet he cannot repent And this is the reason that it is said Matth. 12.13 from him that hath not that which he hath shall be taken from him that is the grace of morall repentance which he hath by the power of the redeemed word of the Law and life of righteousness of faith written in his heart And now to conclude the perfection of the redemption of the naturall man by the cursed death of the Son of God Christ Jesus as he is man Though the redeemed naturall man according to the eternall decree of God Rom. 11.31 be shut up and concluded in spirituall darkness till he be regenerate called unbelief and sin yet the redeemed naturall man by the immediate power of the word of the Law life and light of righteousness of Faith necessarily implying the power of naturall life and light written in the heart of the redeemed naturall man the naturall man is inabled to live the naturall life of man and the life of righteousness of faith morally without any manner of any necessitating of the act of his understanding will or senses either naturally or morally Whosoever therefore doth presume to deny the freedome of the will of the redeemed naturall man either naturally or morally doth necessarily deny the perfection of the redemption of man by the cursed death of the eternall Son of God Christ Jesus as he is man The eternall death and darkness to which all men in Adam the head were condemned was prefigurate by the darkness of the first Tabernacle called the Holy place which was made
close and dark without any light at all And the redeemed naturall life and light of man and the life and light of righteousness of faith to which all men are inabled by the cursed death of Christ Jesus the eternall Son of God made flesh of the seed of the woman was prefigurate by the loaves upon the Table of shew-bread and by the glorious lights of the golden Candlestick placed in the first Tabernacle for the lamps of the golden Candlestick were enlightened by the fire of the brazen Altar prefigurating the cursed altar of the Cross whereon the Lamb of God was to be offered And the fire of the brazen altar whereby the Holocaust sacrifice of the Lamb was burned up did come down from heaven which did prefigurate the fiery wrath of God whereby the Lamb of God was to be burned up upon the cursed altar of the cross for the sins of man And so much for the perfection of the redemption of man condemned to eternall death and darness Next of the concluding of all men redeemed in temporall spirituall darkness called unbelief and sin CHAP. XIV Of the concluding of all men redeemed from the curse of eternall death and darkness in temporall spirituall darkness called unbelief and sin IN the concluding and shutting up of all men in spirituall darkness and unbelief Rom. 11.32 and in the spirituall enlightening of that spirituall darkness standeth the very period of the perfection of the redemption of man and therefore it is said that God did conclude all men in unbelief that he might have mercy upon all For though God hath mercy upon all by the first grace of morall faith to which all men are inabled by the immediate power of the redeemed word of the Law and life of righteousnesse of faith written in the heart of the redeemed man yet his speciall mercy is in his second grace which is by the enlightening of the spirituall darknesse wherein the redeemed naturall man is shut up with the spirituall light of the holy Spirit whereby the naturall man is inabled with the grace of spirituall faith without this concluding of man therefore in spirituall darknesse and spirituall unbelief which is called sin it is impossible that any naturall man in the ordinary calling of God could be spiritually called by the grace of spirituall faith by the only grace whereof man is saved from the second death By this spirituall light inlightening of the darknesse of the understanding of man in the immediate act of spiritual regeneration the understanding of the naturall man is first spiritually inlightened to see himself dead both in actuall morall and actuall spirituall sin under the curse of the Law of Faith which he could never see before For though the naturall man before he be regenerate cannot sin actually and spiritually as he is a spirituall man being dead in spirituall darknesse yet the naturall man by his morall evill action doth sin actually both morally and spiritually though the naturall man before he be regenerate cannot know that his morall evill action is a necessary spirituall transgression of the Law For from the first evill morall action of the naturall man which is a necessary transgression of the Law of faith the naturall man till he be regenerate is condemned by the Law of Faith and dead by the Law in actuall sin as he is a naturall man till he be raised by the grace of spirituall Faith for all actuall sin doth begin morally by the morall transgression of the Law which is both a morall and spirituall transgression as the Law is morally and spiritually commanded But the pardon and remission of actuall sin doth begin spiritually by spirituall faith untill which time the naturall man is necessarily dead in actuall sin though he doth not neither can know that he is dead in actuall sin till his spirituall darknesse be spiritually inlightned And therefore the Apostle Rom. 7.9 saith I was once alive without the Law to wit while as he knew not the spirituall command of the Law but when the command came that is the spirituall command which came by the spirituall enlightning of his spirituall darknesse by spirituall faith sin revived and I dyed For then the Apostle did see himself dead in actuall sin All naturall men therefore before they be regenerate are dead in actuall sin And in this sense our Saviours words are to be conceived while as he saith Luke 9 60. Let the dead go bury their dead By the spirituall light therefore in the immediate act of regeneration the naturall man is spiritually inlightned to see himself dead in actuall morall and spirituall sin and ready to sinck in the bottomlesse sea of Gods fiery wrath for sin under the eternall curse of the Law of Faith while in the mean time he is led by this spiritually light to lay fast spirituall hold on the Lords infinite merit by which spirituall hold the faith of the naturall man proceeding from his spirituall love and the Lords merit by his love to the naturall man are really spiritually and divisibly one by which spirituall union the naturall man is actually and spiritually regenerate and mystically united to his mysticall head the Lord Jesus Christ by whose infinite merit all the regenerate mans finite actuall sins are covered For by this spirituall union the Lords merit by his fulfilling of the Law is made the regenerate mans merit by imputation and imputed to his spirituall faith whereby the regenerate man is justified by the Law by our Saviours fulfilling of the Law And by this spirituall union inabled to live the spirituall life of righteousness and holinesse of faith And therefore it is said Rom. 1.17 The just shall live by faith And this is the faith which is able to remove the greatest mountain of temptation even the mountain of naturall death it self if it stand in the way and offer to make a breach in his spirituall love from the truth of the Lords merit This spirituall darknesse wherein all men are concluded by the eternall Decree of God is that door which is so shut up by God as no man can open And this spirituall Light whereby this spirituall darknesse is enlightned is that key of David that is the key of the son of David by which spirituall key the door of the spirituall darknesse of man being once opened all the devils darknesse and all the powers of earth and hell are not able to shut the door again totally and finally though by the devils darknesse the regenerate man doth too often stumble and fall and foulely fall Of this concluding of all men redeemed from the curse of the eternall darknesse in temporall spirituall darknesse called unbelief and sin two fundamentall points are to be observed The first is the prefigurating of this spirituall darknesse by the darknesse of the second Tabernacle The second is the Reason that this spirituall darknesse and spirituall unbelief is called sin by the Apostle This spirituall darknesse wherein
grace to repent For the better conceiving of this point two questions are to be answered The first is wherein stands Satans cunning that he thus betrayes man to lie and continue in the pleasure of sin I answer Satans cunning standeth in this that by his false deceiving envious light the free act of the naturall love and pleasure of man to apprehend the object of his pleasure is extended to the pleasure of pride that is to say by Satans false deceiving envious light the formall naturall act of the will which worketh by love and is naturally good is strained and extended to the formall morall evill act of the will and to the height of pride by continuance in actuall sin For all continuance in actuall sin is originally from pride and pride from the devils darknes And this is the reason that actuall sin is called Idolatry for pride in the pleasure of sin is the Idol of the heart resisting all command of the Law of faith To make this appear by one example which shall serve for all It is in the free act of the naturall will of man which works by the love of man to the sensitive object of his pleasure to drink a cup of wine sometimes for his health but while his love and desire to wine by Satans false deceiving envious light is so continued as he hateth all company but only such as love that which he loveth For in this union standeth the pleasure of sin because by this multiplied union the strength of the pleasure of sin is multiplied and extended to such a height as it doth resist all power of command of the Law For the drunkard out of his pride hates all light which is averse to his filthy pleasure And this is the old Serpents sting of enmity whereby he stings wretched man to such a height of unlawfull pleasure which doth beget sin upon sin as by daily experience is seen in the drunkard And this is the Devils cunning in all actuall sin whatsoever for by his false deceiving envious light he doth incense the good naturall act of the concupiscence of man to the pleasure of pride which is Idolatry and in this only sense the act of the concupiscence 1 Tim. 6.10 is said to be the root of all evill which is otherwise good by nature The second question may be moved Doth Satan by his false envious deceiving light thus enlighten all the severall sensitive objects of the naturall love and pleasure of man this were an endlesse work for Satan I answer Satan either by his own immediate suggestion by enlightening the species of some former sensitive object in the phansie or by the help of his instruments doth actually enlighten all the severall externall sensitive objects of the naturall love and pleasure of man by his false envious deceiving light and these instruments be such as Satan by the sowing of his cursed seed of enmity baited by his false lying deceiving naturall light hath begotten his children in a manner from the cradle who by their so often swallowing of the pleasing bait are become as cunning and expert in the faculty of tempting as Satan himself in so much that there is not that severall naturall pleasure proceeding from the love of man to the exernall sensitive object which is not incensed by some or other of Satans instruments who swarm so in all places as an honest Christian hath much ado to avoid the danger of their cunning such is their audacious officiousnesse to invite the naturall love and pleasure of man to sin and mischief And these are the old roaring Lions welps and the false deceiving lights of the Devils lanthorn that leads the hopefull youth of this Kingdome from one consuming place of filthy pleasure to another till their hearts are so incensed with the pride of pleasure as all is so spent and consumed that for the most part the poor wretches are necessitate to such wants as without the preventing mercy of God they must either starve or take some such desperate course to supply their wants as they are brought to a shamefull end to the shamefull scandall of the Church of God while under the Law of Grace the hopefull plants of his Church are by this miserable means brought to despair of all Grace What hard hearted Christian is not sensible of this misery But all are at their wits end how to remove the cause of the misery such is the hellish power of this cursed brood Let the morall power therefore of the slaming sword of the Word be put in the right hand and neither the Devill or his instruments shall have such domineering power For by the slaming light of the Word the most rebellious roaring rakeshame is either conformed to the command of the Law of faith or by the stroke of the sword cut off from being such a foul scandall to the Church and without repentance and submission banished the Kingdome So by this means such wilde Boars of the forrest shall not have such power to root up the hopefull plants of the Lords Vineyard and as for such plants as these wilde Boars did so labour to root up out of the Lords Vineyard and are brought to such a low ebbe let never their case seem desperate either to themselves or to us while as they are sensible of the shame that they are brought unto by the pride of sin for shame for the the pride of sin is the first grace that the Lord doth confer upon those whom he hath predestinate to be made like to the Image of his Son for such the Lord doth enable with patience to indure his hand till they be throughly humbled for their pride and then they are fitted for the grace of spirituall preferment For God doth give his spirituall grace to the humble but he doth resist the proud and therefore it is said Isai 40.4 every valley shall be exalted and every high mountain which is the mountain of pride shall be brought low for the Lord never leaves his own till by their humiliation they be brought so low as they are fitted with patience to wait upon his prefixed time for their spirituall calling that by the grace of his spirituall light that they may be led by the hands of faith to lay such fast hold on the Lords merit as all their actuall sins are covered which was the cause of their shame and afflictions And that by the power of his merit that as the Lord hath removed the cause of their shame so he is able even in this life to raise and exalt them from the greatest affliction or if for the continuance of their obedience they are not totally freed in this life yet their comfort is that their greatest scarlet sins shall never have power to condemn them the reason is because their spirituall faith and the Lords merit are really and spiritually one whereby they are justified by the Law and who is he that dare condemn them for it is the
covenant obliging and commanding all the nations of the world to the joyfull jubelizing of that blessed day The Lords day that decreed day sealed with the Lords precious blood no power day or time can determine but the second coming of the Lord the eternall day when his mysticall members shall rest in him their head crowned with an incorruptible crown of glory in the heaven of heavens eternally The Lords day therefore is the true evangelicall seventh day of the law of faith by the new covenant obliging and commanding all the nations of the world to the joyfull jubelizing of the Lords day Thus by the only and immediate assisting grace of the Lord of the Lords day without the aid or help of any mortall man have we finished these three books of the Theologicall key by manifesting of the revealed truth of his sacred day so long darkned and obscured by the darknesse of the miserable age And now for a full conclusion of this Tractate according to our pomise in the second Chapter of the second book the pretended absolute decree whereby the hearts of so many Christians hath been from time to time distracted shall be examined with other opinions in the like kinde concerning the sacred decree of Predestination which for the Readers better satisfaction shall be demonstratively resolved from the lowest and last effect in the supreme and first cause as the eternall word from the beginning hath execute the same by his first three covenants made with man as they are set down in the sacred written Word Certain Opinions concerning the sacred Decree of Predestination CHAP. I. The Pelagian and semipelagian opinions concerning the sacred Decree of Predestination COncerning the sacred Decree of Predestination there be four severall opinions set down by the Authors The first is the Pelagian and semipelagian opinion which in substance and effect are both one For by both the grace to fulfill the law of God is ascribed to the freedome of mans own election though by the semipelagian opinion the grace is parted between God and man Both the opinions are pretended to be grounded upon a fundamentall Theologicall principle which principle is set down in the first Chapter of the first book of the Theologicall key which is in this manner As God doth command the action of his intellectuall creature man as well upon the eternall curse of the law as upon the blessing of the seventh dayes rest So God in his justice by his covenant is obliged to enable man to the performing of the command of his law and man being the free intellectuall creature of God it is affirmed that it is in the freedome of mans own election to fulfill or transgresse the Law of God And that God out of his eternall prescience of mans fulfilling or transgressing of the law hath decreed accordingly the election or condemnation of man so that the suspending or not suspending of the sacred decree of Predestination by these opinions must stand at the beck of the creature The only truth of these two opinions is that the will of man is not necessitate by Gods eternall decree to transgresse the law Now because the untruth of these two opinions hath been from age to age condemned as contradictory to the sacred Word of God my purpose is not to do an act done but to declare the grosse error in the mistake of the fundamentall principle whereon the opinioâ—s are pretended to be grounded It is most certain that God in his justice doth oblige himself to man by his covenant to enable man to the fulfilling of the command of his law But by the favour of the authors and maintainers of these opinions the state of man must be considered wherein God doth oblige himselfe to man by his severall Covenant in which sense this principle is to be conceived and not simply It is without all doubt that God by his first Covenant made with man in Adam created in the state of naturall and spirituall perfection did oblige himselfe to Adam to enable Adam in the state of perfection wherein he was created by the eternall blessing of his first seventh daies rest But God did mutually oblige Adam to merit that blessing by the eternall perfection of his obedience to the command of his law obliging Adam likewise to the eternall curse of his law upon Adams disobedience whose obedience or disobedience by the first Covenant was left to the freedome of his owne election to stand or fall at his pleasure or perill for the freedome of Adams election wherein he was created was such as no increated or created power could necessitate Adams will to fall and yet Gods eternall decree was not suspendible by Adam as hath beene formerly and necessarily concluded to which I must referre the Reader So it is likewise most certaine that God hath entered his new Covenant with man in the redeemed state of man from the curse of eternall darknesse and from eternall death by that darknesse to which all men were condemned shut up in temporall spirituall darknesse till the naturall man be regenerate whereby man as he is a naturall man is enabled to give morall obedience to his calling by the new Covenant without any manner of necessitating the will of man either naturally or morally to disobedience It is likewise most certaine that God hath obliged himselfe by his new Covenant to the actuall continuation of the redeemed naturall and morall grace of man for all the day of this life upon the continuation of mans morall obedience till Gods prefixed time of spirituall calling to whose finall perseverance in his morall obedience the spirituall grace of faith is then due to the naturall man by the new Covenant And therefore the Evangel is said to be the power of God to salvation from faith to faith that is from the grace of morall faith to the grace of spirituall faith But the maintainers of these two opinionâ— must understand that God by his new Covenant hath likewise reâ—liged man to the finall continuation of his morall obedience upon the mercylesse curse of the law of faith as well as upon the eâ—ernall blessing of the law by his Evangelicall seventh daies rest Now though neither Sâ—tan or his instâ—uments can necessitate the will of man to morall disobedience yet the naturall man having no spirituall grace till he be regenerate the naturall man is easily enâ—uced by Satan to the morall finall contempt of the law of God without Gods speciall objective concursive grace to which God is no waies obliged who in this case will shew mercy on whom he will shew mercy And therefore the finall perseverance of the naaturall man and his spirituall calling is the immediate free gift of God and no waies in the freedome of man election And this twofold grace in the Scripture is called the first and latter raine which is from God immediatly And therefore to conclude this point the judicious Reader may plainly perceive the grosse mistake of
is that iâ— our ascending from the Covenants with the resolutâ—â—â— when weâ— come to the third mediate cause in both the Covenants as they are referred to God we must stop from ascending with our resolution till by resolving of the Covenants as they are referred to man wee meet with the like collaterall causes which will be in all foure in number And then we ascend from these foure causes as they are effects produced by one and the same next and immediate superiour cause till we come to the supreame indemonstrable case of all To begin therefore with the first Covenant First as the Covenant is referred to God and next as the first Covenant is referred to man God by his first Covenant doth first oblige himselfe to Adam and to all men created in Adam naturally to descend of Adam to the eternall continuation of the naturall and spirituall perfection of man and the felicity wherein he was created by the blessing of his first seveth dayes rest Secondly God by his first Covenant doth mutually reoblige Adam and all men naturally to descend of Adam to the eternall continuation of the perfection of Adams obedience to the command of his law both upon the eternall blessing of his first seventh dayes rest to Adams obedience and upon the eternall curse of the law to Adams disobedience From this reobliging of man by God to his Covenant the word Religion doth take the name implying the whole obedience of man to the law of God To come therefore to the resolution of the first Covenant first as the Covenant is referred to God The last and lowest effect of the first Covenant as the Covenant is referred to God is Gods obliging of man to the obedience of the command of his law upon the eternall blessing of his first seventh dayes rest and upon the eternall curse of the law by the first Covenant The immediate cause of this obliging of Adam by God in his state of perfection was Gods eternall purpose to manifest himselfe to man in his attribute of justice by rendring the reward of the law according to the merit of man The immediate cause whereof was Gods enabling of Adam with such naturall and spirituall perfection as was equall to the perfection of the command of the law whereby Adam was enabled to merit the continuation of the perfection and felicity wherein he was created eternally upon earth whose standing or falling was left to the freedome of Adams election by the first Covenant The immediate cause of Gods thus enabling of Adam was the perfection of Adams creation we must stop our resolution at this cause till we have the like collaterall cause arising from the first Covenant as it is referred to man The first Covenant as it is reffered to man must be resolved both as the first Covenant was fulfilled by Adam while Adam stood in the state of perfection and likewise as the first Covenant was broke and transgressed by man The last and lowest effect of Adam as hee was obliged by the first Covenant while Adam stood in his state of perfection was his perfect worship of the first seventh day for in the fulfilling of the seventh day the whole law was fulfilled by Adam by fulfilling whereof Adams faith and the eternall blessing of the first seventh dayes rest were actually but not eternally united for the continuation of the blessing of the first seventh dayes rest to Adam was according to the continuation of the perfection of his obedience The immediate cause of Adams fulfilling of the command of the law while Adam stood in his state of perfection was Adams saith in the eternall continuation of his eternall rest by God which was due to his obedience by the law and promised by Covenant to which God obliged himselfe The immediate cause of Adams faith was Adams love to spirituall righteousnssse that is to God spirituall righteousnesse it selfe his gracious Lord God and Creator The immediate cause of Adams spirituall love was the spirituall sanctifying light of the holy Spirit enlightning Adams intellectuall soule in the understanding of the law as the law is spirituall The immediate cause of this spirituall perfection of spirituall light and love in Adam was the perfection of his creation as he was created in the perfection of a spirituall man and in the lively Image of God And here we meet collaterally with the first cause as the first Covenant is referred to God and so we have two of the foure causes but we must not proceed to make the other two causes arise from the new Covenant till we resolve the first Covenant as it is referred to man by Adam transgressing of the lâ—w obliged by the first Covenant The lowest and last effect therefore of Adams breaking of the first Covenant was Adams transgression and contempt of the command of the Law which is sin by which transgression Adam and all men created in Adam naturally to descend of Adam were eternally united to the curse of the law by the first Covenant whereby all men were condemned to eternall death and darknesse for the curse of the law the transgression of man by the first Covenant was peremptory without all time of repentance or hope of revealed mercy The immediate cause of Adams transgression of the law was the suggested vertue of the objective forbidden fruit offered by Eve by eating whereof Adam did apprehend himselfe that he should become like God Where by the way the Reader may observe that the immediate cause of Adams fall was externall to Adam which was the forbidden fruit and Eves suggestion of the vertue of the fruit The immediate cause of Eves presenting of the fruit and of her suggestion of the vertue of the fruit of Adam was here deere love to Adam to have Adam equall to God himselfe as Eve did apprehend her selfe to be by the vertue of the fruit which she did first eate The immediate cause of Eves eating of the forbidden fruit was her ambicious desire to have her selfe equall to God and to be freed from that dying death threatned by the Covenant The immediate cause of Eves foule desire was the false suggestion of the Serpent in suggesting such admirable vertue in the fruit To the eating whereof without all doubt Eve was the more easily enduced to beleeve the Serpents suggestion of the vertue of the fruit of the tree of knowledge because there was such vertue in the fruit of the tree of life for by eating thereof the sensitive nature of man was eternallv preserved and therefore after the fall both Adam and Eve were excluded from Paradise The immediate cause therefore of Eves fall was the Serpent and the beautifull objective fruit of the tree of knowledge and the suggested vertue of the fruit which were all externall to Eve Next before wee arise with the resolution to the supreme cause of all the new Covenant is first to be resolved both as the new Covenant is referred to God and as it is